Cup carrier

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to a carrier having a plurality of openings formed in the top wall thereof for receiving a plurality of drinking cups therein. A tab extends into each of the openings and is adapted to engage a container of predetermined size positioned therein. Insertion of a container of a size greater than the predetermined size will cause the tab to pivot out of the plane of the opening thereby increasing the size of the opening in order to accommodate the larger container. The carrier also includes a plurality of narrow elongated openings formed in the top wall thereof for holding a plurality of drinking straws.

United States Patent 8888 nnnn CU9999 B 2223 (C2222 B 8 Q 9 2 Q m Una Wma m n f n bm e u m uuyshe 03 000 PTWCCG 545889 456666 999999 HHHHHH 33693 247550 84075 ,5 ,3 9604 778603 J v 223333 L n I V n r m. e V. m e 0 mC n R 9 a ma 6..uC 9 l. n mflaofinm 6M .fi mk flb ll 80 JESMFC r. de mmm n .l ng e cwfl m p aS I AFPA 1 111111 2 253 7 2247 [.lll.

FOREIGN PATENTS 10/1967 France New York, N .Y.

Primary Examiner- [54] CUP CARRIER Davis T. Moorhead 8 Claims, 5 DrawingFigs. Attorney-Diner, Brown, Ramik & Holt ABSTRACT: This disclosurerelates to a carrier having a plurality of openings formed in the topwall thereof for receiving a plurality of drinking cups therein. A tabextends into each of the openings and is adapted to engage a containerof predetermined size positioned therein. Insertion of a container of asize greater than the predetermined size will cause the tab to pivot[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS out of the plane of theopening thereby increasing the size of the opening in order toaccommodate the larger container. The carrier also includes a pluralityof narrow elongated openings formed in the top wall thereof for holdinga plurality of drinking straws.

mm uu .CC 5 Mum man an Q0 ML mm n mwkfl mhs fl .l n v ofi e yil NMLG0223 4444 9999 1111. Ill/ 7592 PATENTED FEB23 pan SHEET 1 OF 2 33- 3 NINVENTOR JAMES H. KATZENMY'ER ATTORNEYS PAT-ENTEU H5823 m1 SHEET 2 BF 2mm. m E um mu. m B A l M m B ATTY )RNIz'Y-S CUP CARRIER This inventionrelates to carriers and, more particularly, to paperboard carriers forcontainers such as drinkingcups.

Ready-to-eat food and beverages are often purchased by a consumer at oneplace and then carried a short distance to the place where they areconsumed. This may take place in athletic stadiums where the food ispurchased at a vending stand and then carried by the consumer to hisseat, in a drivein where the of food is purchased at a counter and thencarried by the consumer back to his car, at picnic grounds and in manyother situations. The of food and beverages are usually placed in a boxor other carrier in order to facilitate the transport thereof back tothe place of consumption. However, when cups of beverages are placed ina box they may readily tip over and spill. in order to overcome thisproblem, carriers have been developed with compartments or openingswhich receive and support containers therein. Such carriers have beenreasonably successful in preventing containers from tipping over, buttheir success has been limited inasmuch as they are effective insupporting only a container of a predetermined size; i.e., thosecontainers that'will be relatively snugly received within thecompartmentsor openings. Containers ..that are larger than the openings,of course, will not be received therein, and containers that aresignificantly smaller than the openings will not be securely supportedthereby.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedcontainer carrier that is effective in carrying containers of varyingsizes.

More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide acontainer carrier having a plurality of container-receiving openingsformed therein, and wherein tabs extend into the openings for engaging acontainer of a predetermined size received therein, the tabs beingpivotally connected to the carrier whereby insertion of a container of asize greater than the predetermined size into an opening will cause thetab to pivot out of the plane of the opening thereby increasing the sizeof the opening to engagingly receive the larger container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a carrier for containerswherein the carrier is provided with a plurality of narrow elongatedopenings formed in a top wall thereof for receiving and holding aplurality of drinking straws.

With the above and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by referenceto the following detailed description, the appended claimed subjectmatter and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank from which the carrierof this invention may be constructed, and illustrates six generallycircular flaps which may be folded out of the plane of the blank todefine six container-receiving openings;

F IG. 2 is a perspective view of a carrier constructed from the blank ofFIG. 1 and illustrates two containers snugly received within openings inthe' carrier, and two drinking straws carried within a narrow openingformed in a top wall of the carrier;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2, andillustrates the manner in which a smaller container is engaged by a tabextending into the opening while a larger container is received inanother opening with its respective tab being pushed downwardly out ofthe plane of the opening thereby increasing the size thereof toaccommodate the larger container;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 andfurther illustrates the manner in which the tab has been pivoteddownwardly to accommodate receipt of the larger container; and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FlG. 3 andfurther illustrates the details of the carrier formed in accordance withthis invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is illustrated in H6. 1 ablank generally referred to by the numeral 10. The

blank 10 is generally rectangular in outline and includes twolongitudinal edges 11 and 12, and two transverse edges 13 and 14. Theblank 10 is divided in half by a fold line 15 extending transverselythereof. The fold line 15, in cooperation with fold lines 16 and 17 andportions of the longitudinal edges 11 and 12, sets off bottom formingpanels 18 and 19, respectively, which together comprise a bottom formingwall 20.

The fold lines 16 and 17, in cooperation with fold lines 21 and 22 andportions of the longitudinal edges 11 and 12, respectively, set off sidepanels 23 and 24.

The fold lines 21 and 22, in cooperation with fold lines 25 and 26 andportions of the longitudinal edges 11 and 12, respectively, set off toppanels 27 and 28. Handle-forming panels 29 and 30 extend from the foldlines 25 and 26, respectively, to the respective transverse edges 13 and14. A cut line 31 is provided in the handle-forming panel 29 so as todefine a hinged flap 32 which will cooperate, as will be hereinafterexplained, with an opening 33 in the handle-forming panel 30 to form afinger-gripping means for a carrier that may be constructed from theblank 10.

Each of the fold lines 21 and 22 is interrupted by a plurality ofgenerally U-shaped cut lines 34 opening toward the respective adjacenttransverse edges 13 and 14. Each of the cut lines 34 includes a bightportion 35 disposed in the adjacent side panel 23 or 24 and extendingparallel to the respective fold line 21 or 22, and a pair of legs 36extending from each side of the bight portion 35 across the respectivefold line 21 or 22 and into the adjacent top panel 27 or 28. Pairs ofcut lines 37 extend from each of the fold lines 25 and 26 into each ofthe top panels 27, 28 and are aligned with each of the leg portions 36of each of the cut lines 34. A generally arcuate cut line 38 extendsfrom one of the cut lines 37 to the leg portion 36 of the cut line 34with which it is aligned, and a generally W- shaped cut line 39 extendsfrom the other cut line 37 to the remaining leg 36 of the U-shaped cutline 34 with which the pair of cut lines 37 are associated. The W-shapedcut line 39 includes a generally U-shaped central portion 40 which openstowards the adjacent longitudinal edge 11 and thus defines an inwardlyprojecting tab or flange 41 that may be folded out of the plane of theblank 10 along a fold line 42. it will be thus apparent that theU-shaped cut lines 34, the cut lines 37, the arcuate cut lines 38 andthe generally W-shaped cut lines 39 define a plurality of flaps 43 thatextend across the top panels 27, 28 and partially into the side panels23 and 24 that may be folded along portions of the fold lines 25, 26 outof the plane ofthe blank 10.

A fold line 44 is provided in each of the flaps 43 and together with thecut line 34 and portions of the arcuate cut line 38 and the generallyW-shaped cut line 39 set off securing tabs 45. An adhesive A may beapplied to each of the securing tabs 45 as well as to the handle-formingpanel 30 to be utilized in the construction of a carrier from the blank10 in a manner to be hereinafter described.

Each of the fold lines 25 and 26 is interrupted by a plurality ofshallow U-shaped cut lines 46 opening toward the respective transverseedges l3 and 14. Each of the cut lines 46 includes a bight portion 47disposed in the adjacent top panels 27 and 28, and two legs 48 extendingfrom the ends of the bight portion 47 and terminating at the respectivefold lines 25 and 26. Each of the shallow U-shaped cut lines 46 thusform a tab 49 extending from the respective handle-forming panels 29, 30into the adjacent top panels 27, 28 which are adapted to be folded outof the planes of the top panels 27, 28 upon folding of thehandle-forming panels 29, 30 along the fold lines 25, 26 thereby leavingnarrow elongated openings in the top panels 27, 28 for a purpose to behereinafter explained.

Referring now to FlGS. 2 through 5, there is illustrated a carrier 50which may be constructed from the blank 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. Asmall cup or container 51 and a larger cup or container 52 areillustrated as being received in and supported by the carrier 50.

The carrier 50 may be constructed by folding the blank 10 along thelines l5, l7 and 17 such that the handle-forming panel 29 is broughtinto engagement with the adhesive applied surface A of thehandle-forming panel 30 while the bottomforming panels 18 and 19 arebrought into face-to-face engagement with the panels 23 and 24,respectively. The adhesive-applied securing tabs 45 of the flaps 43 willthen engage and adhere to their respective bottom-forming panels 18,19.In this position the carrier 50 is folded flat to facilitate handlingand shipping thereof but is completely assembled and may be readilyopened to form the construction illustrated in FIG. 2.

As seen most clearly in FIG. 2, the carrier 50 in its erected positionincludes the bottom wall 20, upstanding sidewalls formed by folding thepanels 23 and 24 upwardly along the fold lines l6, 17, respectively, topwalls formed by the panels 27 and 28, and a handle formed by thehandle-forming portions 29, 30 including finger-gripping means formed byfolding the hinged flap 32 of thepanel 29 through the opening 33 in thepanel 30 and then upwardly toward the transverse edges l3, 14. Uponerection of the completed carrier 50, the flaps 43, by virtue of theirsecuring tabs 45 being adhered to the bottom wall 20, are pulled downout of the planes of the top walls 27, 28 thereby leaving generallycircular openings 53 formed therein. The openings 53 extend partiallyinto the sidewall panels 23, 24. The arcuate flanges or tabs 41 extendinto each of the openings 53. It should be noted that the U- shaped cutlines 34 extend less than halfway into the panels 23, 24 so that whenthe flaps 43 are folded out of the plane of the blank upon constructionof the carrier 50 the major portions of the sidewalls 23 and 24 remainin place beneath the openings 53 thereby facilitating a sturdystructure, with only notchlike portions of the walls 23, 24 removedconforming to the shape ofthe securing tabs 45.

As is readily apparent, the smaller container 51 is of such a size thatit will be received in an opening 53 and snugly engaged by therespective arcuate tab or flange 41. On the other hand, the largercontainer 52 is of'such a size that insertion thereof into an opening 53will cause the respective tab 41 to be pivoted along its fold line 42downwardly out of the plane of the opening 53. In this manner the sizeof the opening 53 is increased to accommodate the larger container 52.FIG. 4 clearly illustrates the manner in which a tab 41 is foldeddownwardly to accommodate receipt of a larger container 52 into anopening 53. FIG. 4 also clearly illustrates the manner in which a flap43, after being folded out of the plane of its respective top wall 27 or28 and then adhered to the bottom wall by its securing tab 45, serves asa side support for the bottom ofa cup received within the opening.

When the carrier 50 is erected as seen in FIGS. 2 through 5, the tabs 49of the handle-forming panels 29 and will be folded out of the planes oftheir respective top wall panels 27 and 28 thereby leaving narrowelongated openings 54 formed therein. The openings 54 are intended to beof a size that they will receive and hold a number of drinkingstraws 55.

From the foregoing, it should be readily apparent that there is providedin accordance with this invention a novel carrier for containers or thelike that is adapted, by virtue of the hinged tabs or flanges 41, tosecurely carry, in each of its openings 53, either of two sizes ofcontainers or other articles. The carrier 50 is further improved ascompared with carriers presently available inasmuch as it is providedwith the small openings 54 for conveniently carrying drinking straws orthe like.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been specificallyillustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that minorvariations may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A blank for a container carrier, said blank being generallyrectangular in outline and being divided into two halves by a centralfold line extending transversely thereof, each of said halves having cutlines forming a plurality of flap portions hingedly connected thereto,each of said halves including three fold lines parallel to said centralfold line settin off a bottom panel, a side panel, a top panel and ahandleormtng panel,

said flap portions extending across said top panels and partially intosaid side panels, and said flap portions extend into said side panelsless than one-half the depth thereof.

2. A blank for a container carrier, said blank being generallyrectangular in outline and being divided into two halves by a centralfold line extending transversely thereof, each of said halves having cutlines forming a plurality of flap portions hingedly connected thereto,each of said halves includes three fold lines parallel to said centralfold line setting off a bottom panel, a side panel, a top panel and ahandle-forming panel, said flap portions extending across said toppanels and partially into said side panels, at least one of said foldlines setting off one of said top panels from one of said handle-formingpanels being interrupted by at least one cut line forming a tabextending from said handle-forming panel into said top panel and adaptedto be folded out of the plane of said top panel thereby forming anopening for holding at least one drinking straw.

3. A carrier comprising a bottom wall, upstanding sidewalls and a topwall, at least one cut line extending from the longitudinal center lineof said carrier across said top wall and then back to said center linethereby forming at least one flap hingedly connected to said top wall atthe center line thereof and being adapted to be folded downwardly out ofthe plane of said top wall whereby at least one article-receivingopening is left in said top wall, and said at least one cut line extendsinto one of said sidewalls less than one-half the depth thereof.

4. A carrier comprising a bottom wall, upstanding sidewalls and a topwall, at least one cut line extending from the longitudinal center lineof said carrier across said top wall and then back to said center linethereby forming at least one flap hingedly connected to said top wall atthe center line thereof and being adapted to be folded downwardly out ofthe plane of said top wall whereby at least one article-receivingopening is left in said top wall, and at least one narrow elongatedopening formed in said top wall adjacent the longitudinal center linethereof for holding at least one drinking straw.

5. The carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein a portion of said top wallextends into at least one opening and being adapted to engage an articleofa predetermined size received therein, and said opening portion beingremovable from the plane of said opening whereby an article of a sizegreater than said predetermined size may be received therein.

6. The carrier as defined in claim 4 wherein a portion of said top wallextends into said at least one opening and being adapted to engage anarticle of a predetermined size received therein, and said portion beingremovable from the plane of said opening whereby an article of a sizegreater than said predetermined size may be received therein.

7. The carrier as defined in claim 4 wherein said at least one out lineextends into one of said sidewalls less than one-half the depth thereof.

8. The carrier as defined in claim 7 wherein a portion ofsaid top wallextends into said at least one opening and being adapted to engage anarticle of a predetermined size received therein, and said portion beingremovable from the plane of said opening whereby an article of a sizegreater than said predetermined size may be received therein.

1. A blank for a container carrier, said blank being generallyrectangular in outline and being divided into two halves by a centralfold line extending transversely thereof, each of said halves having cutlines forming a plurality of flap portions hingedly connected thereto,each of said halves including three fold lines parallel to said centralfold line setting off a bottom panel, a side panel, a top panel and ahandle-forming panel, said flap portions extending across said toppanels and partially into said side panels, and said flap portionsextend into said side panels less than one-half the depth thereof.
 2. Ablank for a container carrier, said blank being generally rectangular inoutline and being divided into two halves by a central fold lineextending transversely thereof, each of said halves having cut linesforming a plurality of flap portions hingedly connected thereto, each ofsaid halves includes three fold lines parallel to said central fold linesetting off a bottom panel, a side panel, a top panel and ahandle-forming panel, said flap portions extending across said toppanels and partially into said side panels, at least one of said foldlines setting off one of said top panels from one of said handle-formingpanels being interrupted by at least one cut line forming a tabextending from said handle-forming panel into said top panel and adaptedto be folded out of the plane of said top panel thereby forming anopening for holding at least one drinking straw.
 3. A carrier comprisinga bottom wall, upstanding sidewalls and a top wall, at least one cutline extending from the longitudinal center line of said carrier acrosssaid top wall and then back to said center line thereby forming at leastone flap hingedly connected to said top wall at the center line thereofand being adapted to be folded downwardly out of the plane of said topwall whereby at least one article-receiving opening is left in said topwall, and said at least one cut line extends into one of said sidewallsless than one-half the depth thereof.
 4. A carrier comprising a bottomwall, upstanding sidewalls and a top wall, at least one cut lineextending from the longitudinal center line of said carrier across saidtop wall and then back to said centeR line thereby forming at least oneflap hingedly connected to said top wall at the center line thereof andbeing adapted to be folded downwardly out of the plane of said top wallwhereby at least one article-receiving opening is left in said top wall,and at least one narrow elongated opening formed in said top walladjacent the longitudinal center line thereof for holding at least onedrinking straw.
 5. The carrier as defined in claim 3 wherein a portionof said top wall extends into at least one opening and being adapted toengage an article of a predetermined size received therein, and saidopening portion being removable from the plane of said opening wherebyan article of a size greater than said predetermined size may bereceived therein.
 6. The carrier as defined in claim 4 wherein a portionof said top wall extends into said at least one opening and beingadapted to engage an article of a predetermined size received therein,and said portion being removable from the plane of said opening wherebyan article of a size greater than said predetermined size may bereceived therein.
 7. The carrier as defined in claim 4 wherein said atleast one cut line extends into one of said sidewalls less than one-halfthe depth thereof.
 8. The carrier as defined in claim 7 wherein aportion of said top wall extends into said at least one opening andbeing adapted to engage an article of a predetermined size receivedtherein, and said portion being removable from the plane of said openingwhereby an article of a size greater than said predetermined size may bereceived therein.